King of the Jungle

The Lion came to an ant and said: “Who is the King of the Jungle?” “Why, you, your honor!” the ant replied, while bowing deeply. “Make sure you don’t forget”, the lion said, and walked on.

A little later, it spotted a baboon, and asked the same question. Beset by fear, the baboon managed to reply, "Your Honor, my Master, my King! What a great privilege to even talk to you!" With that it buried its face in the sand.

And so the day went.

Later that afternoon, smug with self-righteousness, the lion approached an elephant. “Who is the King of the Jungle?” it demanded. The elephant did not reply.

Indignant, the lion uttered a great roar: “Who is the King of the …” Just then, the elephant grabbed the lion with its trunk and gave it a few good smacks against a tree. Bedraggled the lion came to its feet while trying to regain its composure.

“Now look here”, it said, “You don’t have to get mad if you don’t know the answer.”

Submitted by Louis Koorts